DaveBaxt

Thank you Roger for your input and very good points regarding loose blocks and anything not secured. This is something I will have to bear in mind as I continue with the rigging. I am now considering leaving off the sheets and possibly the tack as well as there will be no sail carried and I stll haven,t figured out where to secure the ends of the tackle which would normally be secured to the sail. Hope this makes sense. Thank you also for the tip on the book and might have a look out for it. Dave

After finally working out what to do with the sheet and tack when not carrying a Gaff sail . I am also at a loss with the Brails and what to do with these in the same situation ie no sails.I can see that the Brails are used instead of Bunt lines and Leech lines and how they would work ( furling the sail) whilst carrying a Gaff sail. lee's book discribes the different Brails and shows a good diagram of foot loose sail and fancy lines , which brings to mind a common saying. 'Foot loose and fancy free, and wonder if this is where it came from? I am not sure if these type of Brail are fitted to a Lanteen sail and not a Gaff sail as fitted to the Endeavour. I am also unsure if there are any Brail blocks fitted to the mast. but to the Gaff only? I have come across a fine model that shows toggles at the ends of the brails but I thought that the brails were rove through the brail block ,wrapped around the sail, ie through the thimble on the leech and up through the otherside and rove through the oppisite brail block. If this is correct then no toggles are fitted to the Brails. The Brail ends would be attached to the ship rails and brought up tight to the Brail blocks, similar if the sails are furled. I would appreciate if the above ca be clarified and forgive my ignorance for being unable to grasp this. Thank you for all your previuos help .Best regards Dave

Thanks guys for the quick responses. As it is mainly drawings that I am after ' A picture paints a thousand words as they say' I am very much satisfied with James Lees book especially for mast and rigging sizes and try to use this reference as much as possible. So think I will give the paperback book version of Steels a miss and possibly take a look at the online version instead .Using the resources I currently have ,including the blogs on this forum , I am finding just one or two items which appear to be interpreted in different ways. I am currently building the Endeavour but do not own the Anatomy of the the ship book so I unable to use this to see if there is any clatification. Although I understand this book maybe wrong anyway. I see there are a number of other books mentioned such as by Lever and Biddlecomb so will take a look at these too and see if there are any deals I can find. Once again thank you for your time and patience. Best regards Dave

Hello all and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. I came across a paperback copy of this book and although it is second hand I thought it a reasonable price . I am already a proud owner of james Lees book 'The masting and Rigging of English ships of war' Which I have found exceptional, very informative and I am trying to follow as closely as my skills will allow. However I have found there are a few areas where it lacks diagrams and therefore clarity. So do I need another book on rigging bearing in mind I have a number of other books such as Monfeld,Pertersson and Anderson all on the subjects of Rigginng I have heard excellent reports on David Steels book but I am also unsure whether or not a paper back , second hand book is the way forward. I look forward to your comments, including your thoughts on David Steels book and how it compares to James Lees book. Best regards Dave

Thanks again Bob and for your valued input and to further explain about two sheets being fitted to the clue . I have bought the book by John Harland called Seamanship in the age of sail so hopefully I will be able to learn a bit more about ship handling and what the different sails and tackle is used for and hopefully reading this will eventually make more sense to me. Best regards Dave

I have one question regarding the above photo where Andy has kindly marked the different tackle. I have managed to find a photograph of a Gaff sail without a boom and this shows the sheet tack atached to the clue of the sail but connected to the deck aft. So when the sail is to be furled is this tackle then moved forward to just abaft the mizzen mast as seen in the previous photo. Although not the Gaff of the Endeavour, here is the diagram which I have found which shows the sheet tackle connected to the clue and connected down aft.

Here is another photo which Any has kindly updated for me by pointing out where the different attachments are to the gaff, which has helped me understand what I am looking at.

Thank you Andy, that now makes sense and I appreciate your input. All I need to do now is hoe to figure out how where to attach the tackle when there is no Sail there . Perhaps I could attech the upper block of the Sheet to the underside of the gaff Jaw and just leave the tack connection on the mast. Any ideas would be appreciated. I really wish I had a drawing of how this is put together I am pretty sure it would be easier to understand. Next up is how to rig the Brails without the sail . Phew ! Slowly getting there. I might use the drawing with your wording for my Endeavour build . If thats ok. Best regards Dave

Here are some photos of the Endeavour replica which clearly shows the gaff sail is without a boom. I am slo struggling with where to attach the tackle for the sheet and tack when no sails are carried. Here is a question I posted on the forum, which Bob has kindly answered and hopefully is what he is getting at. I am also thinking of fitting the brail blocks to the gaff and I am assuming these are fitted in pairs once again I am unsure as to what to do with the lines without sails. Toggles on the ends perhaps?

Here is two more photographs which show some rigging lines inbetween the Vangs and wonder if these could be the sheets attached to the clue furled on the end of the gaff. If this is is correct then could this not be hooked to the gaff instead? Again it might be easier to just stow the tackle at the rails.

Here is a couple of photographs of the gaff and lower mizzen mast which shows a top and bottome of a tackle block which I assume is attached to the Tack of the sail and is what Bob mentions in his first answer. Instead of the upper tackle block being attached to the tack of sail, could this not be hooked onto the bottom of the gaff jaw whilst no sails are being carried? I now just need to figure out where to attach thefree end of the sheet tackle when there is no clue to attach it to.

Donsangria Thank you for your link and I am beginning to think you are correct however I think it would be esier to leave a tackle on the aft side of the mizzen mast for the tack as indicated by Bob. However finding a correct place for the sheet would be a different matter. I also noticed that on the picture below of the Endeavour you can see the lines of the brails going down towards the deck so I need to find where these go too. If there was a clue block on the gaff perhaps I could attach this to the sheets but think the gaff has brails instead of a clue line to haul in the sails.

Bob. I think I am getting the general idea as a picture is starting to develope in my head but I think unless I can see a drawing or photo of exactly how this is rigged without the sails, I will probably leave this tackle stowed conveniently away as you put it and hopefully at some point I will come across a drawing or similar and show exactly what you mean. Perhaps someone on this forum and reading this particular question has what I am looking for if not your good self and post a drawing or photo. Once again I would like to thank you for taking up your time and no doubt your patience . I think I am almost there but not quite if you know what I mean. Best regards Dave

Thanks again Bob, that is exactly the idea I had in my head. Now as I am fitting as much of the rigging as possible or at list learning as much as I can . Is this tackle removed,when not carrying a sail. I thank you again for your patience. Best regards Dave

Thank you Bob for your quick response and this explains mostly what I want to know and I mostly understand what you are trying to tell me. However I will need to digest this and hopefully the rest will now fall into place. Best regards Dave

I appreciate that the vangs do the job of the braces and the peak halliard does the job of the lifts. The Brails being used for furling the sails. My question is what running rigging is used for Sheets, clues and tacks, when there is no boom. There is also some contradiction whether or not a boom is carried on the HMS bark Endeavour 1761. Just a thought perhaps sheets and tacks are not required if the sail is attached by other means, or is this type of sail similar to a four sided stay sail. Sorry for all the questions but finding this all a bit confusing even after reading several searches on the subject.

Thank you Andrew and I hope you enjoy your Christmas and have a happy and prosperus New Year.

The blocks on the Gaff still to do but there is some confusion as to what is actually fitted to the Mizzen on the Endeavour. Here is an artists painting of the Endeavour which clearly shows evidence https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135273911/view of a driver boom as well as the gaff fitted to the Mizzen. This has been supplied by Dashi for this great blog and I would like to thank him for bring this up. However I do have a few photos of the Endeavour model made in 17 68 in James Lees book which clearly shows that a driver boom is not fitted so will continue to use this version. I still need to double check throughout as I still need to fit the Leechline and Buntlines to the various topsails. I believe these are not necessary on the smaller topgallant sails. Here is a recent purchase to help me with the rigging. Something I wish I had purchased on my last build. It is making life so much easier. So would just like to thank the people on here you recomended this to me.

Yes I think thats pretty much what I did . According to Lees book I think they needed to be even smaller but I had to think about the sizes of rigging too as this is also limiting due to using caldercraft instead of making my own. However I now have some rope from 'Ropes of scale' for the larger sizes ie the stays etc. Thanks to everyone for there likes and support it is much appreciated.

Whilst waiting to figure out what to do next with the ships boats and other bits and pieces I thought I would make a start on fitting the various blocks, foot ropes, stirrups and flemish horses to the various Yards. After reading several different accounts as to what and where to fit blocks I eventually decided to stick with ' The masting and Rigging of English ships of war from 1625-1860' by James Lees. There are several differences between the plans supplied by Caldercraft and James Lees book but mainly the Jeers on the lower and topsail yards and the topsail lifts acted as the topgallant sheets.The jeers instead of the 4 blocks ( 2 on the yard)suggested by the plans I have gone with a 3 block system 2 single and one double on the yard as explained in Lees book page 64 for 5th and 6th rate and smaller.I think the picure on page 64 around about 1640 ad looks like what he might be getting at and with only one fall I also understand that the Endeavour replica is different to this aswell, with a few modellers going down this route. As I have started with Lees book for the rest of the masts yards and rigging, I thought it would make sense to continue with Lees book for the Jeers and top sail and topgallant Tyes. I also found that the blocks suppled by the kit are way to big so I have used smaller blocks where ever I can, but still trying to maintain a difference where ever I could between the lower yards, topsail yards and the topgallant yards. I still need to add the blocks to the Spritsail and Sprit topsail yards once i have figured out what rigging is required for these yards. Assuming they will be the same as the Fore and Main topsail and topgallant yards but will need to double check this

I pinned the yards to the masts on my last model but did not think to have blackened the brass as I was unawhare that you needed to leave a gap whilst the yards are stationary and the parrals are tight up but will ensure this is corrected on this model. Thanks for your input as it is grately appreciated.Best regards Dave

Thank you Allan for once again helping me out and you quick response.and which could explain things somewhat. Unfortunately Lees does not give a dawing on how this is set up but I have found a drawing in RC Andersons book- 'The Rigging of ships in the days of the spritsail topmast 1600 - 1720.' page 188 fig no 244 whereby the lifts are attached to the topgallant sheets and clue. Although this is slightly different than lees explanation I think? ,for me it is for me easier to understand. So will probably adopt this method for my model.

The above has been stated by Lees 'The masting and rigging of the ships of war' page 84. It also goes on to say that if the model is not to carry sails then it is best to secure the lifts to the clue line block and topgallant yard. So far so good however the book then goes on to say thus- enabling the topgallant yard to be held down. I am not sure what this means and therefore in this situation do we still require lifts on the topgallant yards? I have no problem with carrying out the above on my model of the Endeavour,however I am yet to see a model with the topsail rigging on the fore and main topsail yards but would also like to carry as much rigging as feasably possible and as accurately as possible and follow Lees book as recommended by a good few modallers on here.I am just trying to ensure that my way of thinking is correct. Also as I understand it the above would not be appropriate for the topsail Mizzen as there is no topgallant yard on the Mizzen on my particular model (The Endeavour1961) and therefore would have normal lifts,sheets and clues. Thank you for your help and patience,best regards Dave

It has been some time since I visited this blog and I am really impressed with the progress you vhave made and the quality of the workmanship is up there with the best I have seen from a Caldercraft kit. I look forward to your approach to the rigging and see what other tips I can pick up along the way.

I think I still have a way to go with my Endeavour and I am still trying to get my head around the rigging. . However when I do eventually get around to starting on the Diana, I will definately be following your build closely and hopefully will be to imulate some of your workmanship. Cheers